ISIS said that it was behind the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman in Jerusalem

Israeli police said three Palestinians attacked officers outside the walled Old City in annexed east Jerusalem

ISIS said jihadist fighters targeted a "gathering of Jews" and warned that "this attack will not be the last"

JERUSALEM, Israel - A potentially damaging row broke out in Jerusalem on Saturday after Palestinian militant factions dismissed a claim by the Islamic State group that it was behind the fatal stabbing of an Israeli policewoman.

Palestinian militant factions said the assailants came from their ranks and at the same time Israeli security services too raised doubts about the veracity of the ISIS claim.

After ISIS claimed the attack in a statement on Friday, reports noted that this would be the terror group’s first attack in Jerusalem or inside Israel.

Earlier, Israeli police said that three Palestinians attacked officers just outside the walled Old City in annexed east Jerusalem late on Friday before being shot dead by security forces.

The police said that two assailants opened fire on a group of officers who returned fire, and a third stabbed the border policewoman, identified as 23-year-old staff sergeant major, Hadas Malka, a short distance away before being shot.

Malka was reportedly taken to the hospital in a critical condition and later died of her wounds.

The attack came as tens of thousands of Palestinians held night prayers at the Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is nearby and is Islam's third-holiest site.

Prayers marked the third Friday of the holy fasting month of Ramadan.

Later, ISIS claimed the attack in a statement and said jihadist fighters had targeted a "gathering of Jews,” and warned that "this attack will not be the last.”

ISIS also added in its statement that the attack was "revenge for the religion of Allah and the sanctities of the violated Muslims.”

Subsequently, the Palestinian Islamist group, Hamas that runs the Gaza Strip, dismissed the claim and argued that the attackers had come from among its own ranks and those of the leftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP).

Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the ISIS claim was an attempt to "muddy the waters,” adding that the attack was carried out by "two Palestinians from the PFLP and a third from Hamas.”

He added that the killing was "a natural response to the crimes of the occupier.”

Hamas and the PFLP identified the three assailants as 18-year-old Bara Ata, 19-year-old Osama Ata, and 18-year-old Adel Ankush - all from the village of Deir Abu Mashal near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The PFLP said Bara and Osama Ata had recently been released from several months in Israeli prison.

The Israeli army said the assailants appeared to have acted independently, like many of the attackers in a wave of unrest that has rocked Israel and the occupied territories since October 2015.

An army spokeswoman said in a statement, "A preliminary army intelligence evaluation found no evidence of them belonging to any group, rather they appear to have been a typical popular terror squad.”

The police said that following the attack, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to cancel permission for Palestinians to visit family members in Jerusalem and Israel.

He also criticised the way both Hamas and PFLP had described the incident.

Mladenov said in a statement, “I am appalled that once again some find it appropriate to justify such attacks as 'heroic’.”

Meanwhile, U.S. President Donald Trump’s son, Donald Jr., on Saturday called out the BBC for a headline on the Jerusalem terror attack.

He targeted the media house for neglecting to mention the Israeli Border Police officer stabbed to death, and focused only on the three Palestinians killed without noting that they were the assailants.

Trump Jr. immediately tweeted back and said, “You mean after they stabbed a female Israeli police officer to death… right? This is as close to being misleading as possible.”

He tweeted later, “Need a new term for this nonsense. Sort of the opposite of victim blaming. How about Culprit Coddling? Maybe Criminal Cozying? Thoughts???”

Reports subsequently noted that the Israeli embassy in London also lodged a complaint with BBC “for the false reports about the attack in Jerusalem and their refusal to use the words terror when it comes to attacks on Israeli citizens.”

Meanwhile, a statement from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu office said that the Prime Minister demanded that the Palestinian Authority condemn the terror attack in Jerusalem.

The statement said, “The Prime Minister demands that the Palestinian Authority condemn the attack and expects the international community to do so too.”

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